1. Field of Art
This application relates generally to the field of online sales and distribution systems and, in particular, to an extensible configuration tool permitting third-party customization of an interactive system that facilitates complex transactions by employing branded virtual characters that persist across multiple platforms throughout the various stages of such transactions.
2. Description of Related Art
As discussed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/433,720, filed on Apr. 30, 2009, there is a need to engage consumers throughout the entirety of a complex sales and distribution process. What is needed is a system that can attract prospective customers and retain them throughout the various stages of a long and complex sales cycle. Moreover, there is a need to simplify the development process of such a system, and make it extensible via a user-friendly configuration tool that permits third-party developers to customize individual product modules, including the runtime assets contained therein.